Iran emerges as biggest crude steel producer in West Asia: Report

Iranian steelmakers produced 13 million tons of crude steel from January to May this year, registering a 2.2% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.

Steel producers located in the Middle East, including Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, together produced a total of 18.7 million tons of steel during the period, up 1.1% year-on-year.

The world’s 63 steelmakers produced 786 million tons of steel during the same period, down 1.2%.

Countries located in Africa, including Egypt, Libya, South Africa and Tunisia, produced 2.6 million tons of steel, up 2.6% compared with the same period last year.

The steel output of countries in Asia and Oceania, including Australia, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, stood at 588.4 million tons, up 0.7%.

The 27 European Union countries produced a total of 56 million tons, down 10.4%.

The states located in “Europe, Other” region, including Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey and the United Kingdom, produced 16.6 million tons of steel, down 16.3% compared with the corresponding period of the preceding year.

North American countries, including Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, produced 45.9 million tons of steel during the period, down 3.6%.

Steelmakers in the “Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries plus Ukraine” region, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine produced 36.9 million tons of steel, down 3.8%.

South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, produced 17.1 million tons of steel, down 5.9% year-on-year.

Iran produced 30.6 million tons of crude steel last year and managed to maintain its place as the world’s 10th biggest steel producer.

In the meantime, the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), affiliated to the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, stood in 20th place among the world’s top steelmaking companies.

Iran became the world’s second-largest sponge iron producer by producing 125,100,000 tons in 2022.

The country also produced 2.5 million tons of crude iron in 2022, 100,000 tons of which were exported overseas.